What you least expect
by DahliaRose83
Summary: Post Season 2, Ep. 13: What if Elena and Bonnie hadn t joined Caroline for a sleepover? What if someone else decided to take care of her? Someone completely unexpected.


First I would like to apologise for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. English isn`t my native language. I`m german. Also this story was originally written in german and posted on a german fanfiction board. Since I didn`t get much response there, I thought I`d try it here.

What you least expect

"I`m okay. I`m not girly little Caroline anymore. I can handle myself." „Sure you can." Stefan replied, although he didn`t look like he believed her. „I just really want to go shower, so..." „Okay." He seemed like he wanted to say more, but then he thought better of it and left.

Caroline closed the door and stifled a sigh. She hadn`t really lied to him. She wasn`t girly little Caroline anymore. That much was true. But she was far from okay. Only she didn`t want to admit that in front of Stefan. Of course she knew, that he only wanted to help. That he was worried about her. But at the moment she just couldn`t take that worry. Too much had happened today and she only wanted to curl up in bed and forget this horrible day ever happened. Stefan should take care of Elena. Surely the brunette needed him more right now.

Tired she went upstairs and into her room, where she sat down in front of her vanity table, almost scared to look into the mirror. A sudden noise made her turn around, ready to attack whoever dared to sneak up on her. When she saw who was leaning against the far wall of her room she relaxed. If only a little.

"What do you want, Damon?" she asked, not even trying to hide her annoyance. She was tired, sore and maybe even a little heartbroken because of Tyler. The last thing she needed right now was Damon Salvatore playing mind games with her. Not that he seemed to care.

"You may fool my brother, but you can`t fool me." was his cryptic answer. Sighing she turned back towards the mirror, muttering: "Just leave me alone." Hoping that maybe he`d go if she just ignored him. Of course he didn`t. He never did what was expected of him. Instead he came closer, crouching down next to her.

What are you doing?" She asked still a little annoyed, but also curious about his strange behavior. He didn`t answer. Without saying a word he pulled back her hair, looking at her neck, that still had a few wooden sticks embedded in it. The werewolf had found it funny to use her as a dartboard. Her screams of pain had made him laugh. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away, not wanting to show weakness in front of Damon.

He was still silent. Suddenly he started pulling out the sticks. Caroline held her breath, but it wasn`t as painful as she`d expected. He was surprisingly gentle.

After removing the last sick he stood up and handed her a blood bag. She had no idea where that suddenly came from. He must`ve hidden it somewhere beneath his jacket. When she only looked at him, he ordered: "Drink. Blood heals." A shadow passed over his face and she thought she saw sadness in his eyes. But he turned away before she could be sure.

While she was drinking the blood Damon had given her, he disappeared into her bathroom. A moment later she heard water running and wondered what he was doing. Was he taking a shower? Just as she finished the blood bag he returned, still fully clothed. So he hadn`t been showering. Still not saying a word he took the empty bag and helped her to her feet. Completely startled she let him lead her into the bathroom, where she stared at the bathtub. He had prepared a bath for her.

She turned to him, to ask again what game he was playing now, but he was out the door before she could utter a word. After a moment's hesitation she pulled off her dirty clothes, throwing them on the floor without a second thought. Sighing she leaned back in the tub, enjoying the warm water and the aroma of vanilla. It was her favorite scent. She had told Damon so, she remembered. Back when she`d still been human and he had been using her. Now she wondered if he actually remembered that. No, he must`ve grabbed that bottle by chance, she concluded.

But still his behavior puzzled her. Why was he here, taking care of her? What did he get out of this? He never did something just out of the goodness of his heart. He always had a plan, always thought only of his own profit. And even more important: Why was she allowing him to take care of her? Why hadn`t she pushed him away like Stefan?

The answer was simple: Because she couldn`t. Despite everything that had happened in the past, she somehow still looked up to him. Today, when she had been sitting in that cage, had gotten tortured, all she could think was "Damon will come and save me. I just have to hold on. Damon will come."

Caroline didn`t know why she`d been so sure of that. After all, he`d already tried to kill her twice. But he had also saved her life twice. Once when Logan Fell had kidnapped her and the second time back in the hospital, when he`d given her his blood.

She would probably never understand him. Just like she`d never understand her feelings towards him. Even when she hated him, after turning had made her remember all the nasty things he`d done to her, she couldn`t really get over him. It wasn`t that she was still in love with him. She probably never was. But she also couldn`t hate him anymore. Damon was just Damon. And without really knowing when or how it had happened, she had started accepting him, with all his flaws, his sarcastic comments, his evil plans and his selfishness.

A sudden noise made her sit up straight and open her eyes just in time to see the door close behind Damon`s retreating form. Had he been watching her? How long had he been here without her noticing? She looked at the floor, startled to find her dirty clothes gone. Fresh clothes were lying nearby. She couldn`t help but wonder what kind of game he was playing with her now.

The water got cold, so she got out of the tub and dried off. Looking at the clothes he had brought for her she was once again surprised. It was a pair of grey shorts and an off-white tank top, the writing at the front barely readable from being washed so often. Her favorite night-clothes. But he couldn`t know that. No-one could know that, except maybe her mother. She only wore those clothes when she was alone. When Elena or Bonnie came for a sleepover she wore her cute pajamas.

And again she wondered if he`d just grabbed the clothes by chance or if he knew more about her than she`d thought. But right now she was way too tired to analyze his strange behavior any further. All she wanted was sleep.

She had expected Damon to be gone by the time she returned to her bedroom, but she found him sitting in a chair next to her bed, staring out the window. Caroline hesitated a second, before walking over to him. "Thank you. You can leave now. I`m fine, really." she stated. Damon didn`t even look at her. Still staring out the window he ordered: "Go to sleep, Caroline." She opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. Fighting him would probably get her nowhere. Wordlessly she got into bed.

It should feel strange, to know that he was still sitting there, she mused. But somehow it didn`t. Somehow it made her feel save. Damon was strong. So much stronger than her. Stronger than Stefan. Maybe that was the reason she had believed that he would save her. Just like she believed that nothing bad would happen to her tonight. Not while he was there, keeping vigil.

###

"Such a pretty face." the werewolf mocked, spraying her with vervaine. The burning pain made Caroline cry out. Her eyes flew open and she fought against the hands holding her down, only stopping when he called out her name and she remembered where she was. She barely noticed that he`d used her real name again, rather than calling her Barbie or Blondie, like he usually did.

Damon let go of her, but still remained seated on the bed. She could feel his eyes on her and tried desperately to hold back tears. When she suddenly felt his arms around her, she lost the battle, hiding her face against his shoulder as sobs wracked her body.

She didn`t know how long they sat like this, with her crying into Damon`s shoulder, while he didn`t say a word. He just held her, his hands stroking her back soothingly. When she finally pulled away, embarrassed over her emotional outburst, she noticed the tear stains she had left on his dark shirt.

"I´m sorry." she muttered. He looked at his shirt, a wry smile playing around his lips. "You`ll be even more sorry when you get the cleaning bill." he promised and she managed a small smile. Suddenly conscious of her dishelved appearance she wiped at her eyes. "God, I probably look horrible."

"Yep, you do." Damon deadpanned, this time really making her laugh. Even if it was only a small giggle. "Why are you doing this, Damon?" she asked eventually. He gave her a curious look, like he didn`t know what she was talking about. "Why are you here? Why are you helping me?" she clarified. He seemed to think about it for a second, but then he just shrugged. "You`re talking too much."

"Damon..." she whined, but he silenced her with a look. Sighing Caroline accepted that she wouldn`t get any answers tonight. He`d probably never answer her questions. "Try to get some more sleep."

Hesitating a little she finally obeyed, lying back down and closing her eyes, while Damon resumed his seat at the window. This time there were no nightmares. She slept peacefully, dreaming of a large party. She saw herself in a beautiful ball gown and every guy wanted to dance with her. When she awoke the next morning, Damon was gone.


End file.
